Roasted Broccoli & Quinoa Salad

View of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate

We just got back from our belated honeymoon in Peru: a few days acclimating to the altitude in Cusco, 4 days/3 nights hiking the Inca Trail, a few days relaxing at a resort & spa in the Sacred Valley and then New Year’s Even and another few days eating my weight in ceviche in Lima.

I knew the Inca Trail would be a personal challenge but at no point did I ever hit a wall, as I often do while running. Hiking the Inca Trail was an amazing experience: it allowed me the time to reflect on my own life, learn about the history of the Quechua/Inca, practice my terrible Spanish, and take in some crazy views that I will probably never experience again in this lifetime. When we finally arrived to Machu Picchu, I never wanted to leave…except a beer, shower and clean bed (in that order) sounded pretty good.

Beef Goulash

I know, it has been a while. I’ve been traveling a lot, both for work and for fun. Spent a weekend in Sonoma sipping wine and relaxing with friends. Went to Seattle for work and actually spent a little time in the city for a change. Had some beer in Denver. Went to the Salt Lick for their famous Texas BBQ (for those of you who don’t want to drive, its also available at the Austin airport). Spent three days at the Dallas airport. Made a second trip to Austin to run my first half marathon in over four years! Slowest time ever clocked, but a finish is a finish. Celebrated with dinner at Paul Qui’s Uchiko restaurant.

Cornbread Sausage Stuffing

Oh hello, there! It’s been a while, but I’ve still been cooking. Lots to catch up on…including a silky cauliflower soup and cioppino. Apparently I go crazy for crab around the holidays. But first things first, I made this cornbread sausage stuffing for Friendsgiving the weekend we got back from Argentina.

On Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina

The original recipe wants you to whirl the baked cornbread in a food processor but I cut mine into bite sized chunks more reminiscent of a crusty bread-based stuffing. I used spicy Italian sausage for this version but in the future I would prefer an andouille sausage or chorizo to kick the flavor up a notch. The Italian sausage didn’t have the flavor I was hoping for (the original inspiration for this stuffing was the cajun turducken stuffing). However, this is a good base recipe to use in the future.

Travel, adventure and food!

Just me on the giant Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia

We’ve spent the last two weeks exploring Argentina with day trips to Chile and Uruguay. Now we’re back and trying to catch up on life. New food posts coming soon!

Nem Khao (Laotian Fried Rice Ball Salad)

Nem khao from a street vendor in Chiang Mai

In December 2009, I spent 2 weeks in Thailand. My favorite thing about the trip was the food. One of the most memorable dishes was a fried rice ball salad, which I later learned is called Nem Khao.

My friends and I were wandering the street markets in Chiang Mai and stopped at a stall where a woman was frying mystery balls and tossing them with peanuts, ginger, shallots, scallions and what looked like pork skins. After a lot of staring, the woman handed us some mystery balls to try–turned out they were fried balls of seasoned rice! We stood staring a little more before the woman asked if we’d like to buy some…duh! We all shared a serving and I was sold: salty, sweet, sour and crunchy…all in one bite! I found the rice ball salad one more time in Bangkok, but it wasn’t nearly as good…the rice balls were a little stale.

When I got home, my Thai friend identified the dish as Nem Khao, which is a Laotian dish that can also be found in Northern Thailand. As you can imagine, I couldn’t find any restaurants in Chicago that served Nem Khao…and there are only a few restaurants in the Bay Area that serve it. A few weeks ago, my friends took me to Champa Garden in Oakland for the Nem Khao and it was as amazing as I remembered.

As we were eating, I knew I had two choices 1) drive to Oakland every time I have a craving or 2) learn to make it myself. I figured I would try to make it myself and I’m glad I did. This is one of the best dishes I’ve made so far.